12-Step Plan To Cut Software Costs

Controlling nondiscretionary IT spending is a perennial top priority for CIOs, but the cost of software licensing, operations and maintenance is a particularly sore topic. In our InformationWeek 2012 Enterprise Applications Survey, we asked respondents to rate their satisfaction with nine aspects of on-premises enterprise application technologies. Ongoing maintenance and support came in dead last, with nearly half of 268 respondents with responsibility for enterprise applications saying they’re somewhat or extremely dissatisfied. Initial cost didn’t fare much better.

In our practice, we often see clients surprised by (sometimes substantial) unplanned costs. Maybe it’s unexpected new licenses to support project investments, vendor changes to ­licensing metrics, hidden compliance costs or expiring maintenance terms. Seemingly ­endless maintenance on legacy platforms is also a factor. Fortunately, we have a plan to ­minimize surprises. To effectively manage software license and maintenance spend, follow two parallel activity paths. (S6051012)